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Alessandra
AS I WALKED AWAY FROM Sebastian, my stomach grumbled.
I still hadn’t gotten to drink any blood yet, and I was incredibly thirsty.
As I headed back outside to check on the party, I was disappointed to find that many of our guests had left. Of course, it was three a.m., so I supposed it was to be expected. I’d just been hoping for everyone to congratulate me and Sebastian before they left.
I could hardly believe what a fool Sebastian was. And to think that I had once loved him. It made me feel embarrassed of my romantic tastes. If I hadn’t been there to help him, he would have given in to exactly what his aunt wanted. He would have vacated the palace, allowing her to simply step in as ruler.
Well, not if I had my way. I was going to make sure, one way or another, that Caroline Dezerea did not become the next Queen of the Stark coven. My reason was simple.
I was going to be the next Queen to rule the Stark coven and, eventually, it would be with Kade by my side.
Once we got rid of Sebastian, the coven would have no choice but to make Kade their next King.
I wasn’t sure yet how, exactly, we would get rid of him. Kade was set on killing his brother, but I thought that was being too kind.
No, if it were up to me, we would find a way to either banish Sebastian from his own kingdom or to completely destroy his sanity and have him locked away somewhere for all of eternity.
Now that I knew he’d lied to me about his precious slave being dead, the latter sounded like the most appealing option.
I scanned the courtyard for my slaves. I spotted them all in one corner of the yard, still talking and dancing with Sebastian’s slaves. I rolled my eyes as I approached them.
“Girls, I think it’s time for you to return to the Slave Chambers,” I commanded.
Lexi turned to me. “We don’t answer to you. We answer to Sebastian.”
I leaned in closer to her, so close that our faces were nearly touching. “I hate to break it to you, lovely, but Sebastian and I are about to wed. Perhaps your prince has spoiled you with how long he’s chosen to be a bachelor, but he won’t be a single man for much longer. And once he’s married to me, that means you will answer to both of us. What’s his will soon be mine.”
“Are you saying that you’ll...drink...from us?” Lexi looked horrified.
“If I so choose.” I grabbed her chin and fixed my gaze on her eyes. “But I wouldn’t worry too much about that if I were you. Sebastian has let me sample your blood in the past. It’s certainly not of the best quality. I can hardly understand why he chose you to be his slave.” My lips curved into a smile. “Now I suggest that you be on your best behavior unless you want to be the first slave I ask Sebastian to get rid of.”
“Yes, Princess Alessandra,” Lexi replied obediently.
As I released her, she turned in the direction of the palace. All of Sebastian’s other slaves broke away from mine and followed after her, giving me small nods as they walked on by.
“Guys, I’ll be taking you back to your rooms. Follow me,” I announced.
My slaves all got into line and followed me back into the palace. The rooms, which would now become the permanent Slave Chambers for the guys, were located on the first floor.
I’d made sure that Prince Sebastian had given me rooms that were far enough away from the girls. While I knew they would be spending a good deal of time together now that we would all be living in the palace, I still wanted them to maintain their distance. The last thing I needed was for the girls to know what went on in my Slave Chambers.
Once we approached their rooms, I turned to them. “You may all settle in for the night. Vernelle, I need you to stay with me.”
He nodded as his gray eyes locked on mine. They sparkled beneath the light in the hallway, causing something to stir within me.
What was it about this guy—this human guy—that I was so attracted to?
Actually, I knew. I was about to be reminded of it in just a few moments.
As the last of my slaves stepped into their Chambers and closed the door, I grabbed a key from an artificial plant that rested on a table in the hallway.
“So, that’s where the key is hidden, huh?” Vernelle asked as he loomed over me.
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Yes. I would find a new hiding place for it, but I trust that you won’t do anything with that knowledge.”
“Have I ever disobeyed you, Princess?” he asked as he leaned in closer.
As his lips fell on mine, he kissed me deeply. As his tongue began to get tangled up in mine, I pulled away.
“Not here, Vernelle,” I whispered. “Wait until we get to the drinking room.”
“My mistake. I thought you were all about living life on the edge,” he replied, his eyes locking on mine intensely. “Unless you’re afraid, perhaps, that Prince Kade will catch us together.”
My stomach dropped. No one was supposed to know about my affair with Kade. I didn’t care how much Vernelle had helped me out tonight; he wasn’t to know.
“You must be confused. I’m sure you meant Prince Sebastian,” I corrected, hoping that he had simply confused the two Stark princes. It wasn’t like Vernelle had been in Deadwood for very long.
“No, I’m not confused. I meant Prince Kade, the prince who isn’t your fiancé.”
Grabbing onto his arm, I pulled him down the hallway and into the room I’d chosen as my drinking room.
Closing the door behind us, I folded my arms across my chest and studied his face. “How much do you know?”
“What I know is that I saw you and Prince Kade leave the party together. When you came back, you reeked of sex. So, tell me, Princess. You’re engaged to Prince Sebastian and you’re running off with Prince Kade.” A smile hit his lips. “Which prince is it that you’re really into?”
“You will speak a word of this to no one.”
He shrugged. “That won’t be a problem. Who would I tell?”
“Sebastian... anyone.”
He ran his hand over his lips in a zipping motion. “My lips are sealed.”
“They better be. If you run your mouth, I will have no choice but to kill you,” I said firmly. “Do you understand me?”
“You couldn’t be more clear.” He met my eyes evenly. “I don’t believe you, though.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Because I’m your favorite slave. You wouldn’t want to miss out on this,” he whispered. As his hard, muscular arms braced me, he lifted me up against the door. Then he slipped his fiery hot tongue into my cool mouth.
This time as he kissed me, I kissed him back heatedly; my feelings of excitement were evenly paired with the rage I’d felt watching him kiss that stupid slave girl earlier.
I broke away from him and, through my breathlessness, managed to say, “You will not kiss Julia again, unless I instruct you to do so. Do you understand me?”
“I would never dream of it,” he whispered onto my lips as he brought his mouth down on mine again.
Allowing my fangs to come out, I bit down on his bottom lip—gentle enough to not hurt him but hard enough to puncture his skin.
As a few droplets of blood hit against my tongue, there was no going back. I needed more of his blood. I needed to drink from him.
I pushed him down onto the bed and climbed on top of him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
Kissing his neck, I inhaled him, taking in his heavenly scent. Every part of my body felt like it was on fire against his warm touch.
The heat was one of the things I loved most about being with a human, one of the things I loved about Vernelle...
As I tore off his shirt, I glanced down at him.
He stared up into my face. I knew he was just as eager as I was for this; I could tell from the intensity in his eyes...
He tilted his head to the left, giving me access to his neck.
Sinking my fangs into his skin, I closed my eyes as his blood streamed into my mouth. It was the most decadent blood I’d ever tasted, the perfect blend of sweet and savory.
I could feel the warmth of the blood as it flowed through my cool body.
Vernelle’s heart thumped louder than it normally did. And if that weren’t indication enough that he liked what I was doing to him, he moaned softly under me.
I could have allowed myself to drink his blood until there was nothing left, but I needed Vernelle. And not just because his blood satisfied me like no other but because he was my tool—myweapon—against Julia.
When I pulled away from him, I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and then licked the bloody mess I’d created.
Vernelle remained on the bed, allowing his heart rate to return to normal.
“Let’s take you back to the Slave Chambers now, shall we?” I asked as I smoothed out my black dress.
He nodded and climbed off the bed. Once he stood alongside me, I turned to him. “You shouldn’t fool yourself, you know. Just because you’re my favorite slave doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t kill you.”
“Oh?” He looked amused and entirely unconvinced. “Knowing how much you like me makes that very hard to believe.”
“Well, you should believe it.” Even though I knew I couldn’t say it out loud, a thought crossed my mind.
I’d liked my brother Angelo, too, but that hadn’t stopped me from having him killed.